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A pilot with a crippling back problem was deemed fit to fly by a drunk medic
leading to a mid-air collision in which he and a teenage air cadet lost
their lives, an inquest heard today.

Flight Lieutenant Mike Blee appeared to become paralysed after the collision
with a glider over Oxfordshire and was unable to fly the plane. Nicholas
Rice, 15, tried desperately to open the canopy and escape, but was unable to
do so.

Investigators believe Flt. Lt. Blee’s fragile back broke in the initial
collision. The man who conducted Mr Blee’s annual medical checks for the
Royal